ZCZC MIATCPAT3 ALL TTAA00 KNHC DDHHMM BULLETIN HURRICANE MITCH ADVISORY NUMBER 29 NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 4 PM EST WED OCT 28 1998 ...MITCH STILL POUNDING NORTHERN HONDURAS... A HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE CARIBBEAN COAST OF HONDURAS...GUATEMALA...BELIZE...THE YUCATAN PENINSULA OF MEXICO FROM CABO CATOCHE SOUTHWARD...INCLUDING THE OFFSHORE ISLANDS OF THESE AREAS. A TROPICAL STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE CAYMAN ISLANDS. INTERESTS ELSEWHERE IN THE NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA SHOULD CLOSELY MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF THIS DANGEROUS HURRICANE. AT 4 PM EST...2100Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE MITCH WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 16.4 NORTH...LONGITUDE 85.9 WEST OR VERY NEAR THE ISLAND OF GUANAJA...ABOUT 30 MILES NORTH OF THE COAST OF MAINLAND HONDURAS. MITCH HAS BEEN DRIFTING WESTWARD OVER THE PAST FEW HOURS. LITTLE OVERALL MOTION IS EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT...KEEPING THE CORE OF THE HURRICANE OVER OR VERY NEAR THE OFFSHORE ISLANDS OF HONDURAS. MITCH IS LIKELY TO REMAIN A THREAT TO THE NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 115 MPH...185 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. SOME FURTHER WEAKENING IS POSSIBLE WHILE MITCH CONTINUES TO INTERACT WITH LAND. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 105 MILES...165 KM... MAINLY NORTHEAST FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 175 MILES...280 KM. THE LATEST MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE REPORTED FROM RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT WAS 960 MB...28.35 INCHES. RAINFALL TOTALS OF 15 TO 25 INCHES...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS... ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF HONDURAS AND OTHER PARTS OF CENTRAL AMERICA. THESE RAINS COULD CAUSE LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODS AND MUD SLIDES. STORM TIDES OF 8 TO 12 FEET ABOVE NORMAL ASTRONOMICAL LEVELS ARE POSSIBLE NEAR THE CENTER OF THE HURRICANE...ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES. REPEATING THE 4 PM EST POSITION...16.4 N... 85.9 W. MOVEMENT TOWARD...WEST NEAR 2 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...115 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE... 960 MB. AN INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT 7 PM EST FOLLOWED BY THE NEXT COMPLETE ADVISORY AT 10 PM EST. RAPPAPORT STRIKE PROBABILITIES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS ADVISORY NUMBER CAN BE FOUND UNDER AFOS HEADER MIASPFAT3 AND WMO HEADER WTNT73 KNHC. NNNN